Rough Stoke 'push the limits', moans Chelsea boss Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas may be new to the Barclays Premier League but he showed no hesitation in marking his first match by controversially accusing Stoke of 'pushing the boundaries'.

The Chelsea manager refused to criticise referee Mark Halsey after seeing three penalty appeals rejected. Villas-Boas was less than happy, however, at what he felt was the rough-house behaviour of Tony Pulis's players at set-pieces.

Hot and cold: Tony Pulis embraces Andre Villas-Boas at final whistle but the Chelsea boss was less than happy with the rough-house tatics

'Whatever the referee decided, (about the penalties) he decided,' he said. 'But the point I want to make is when you play in difficult games like this is the amount of pushing and grabbing in the box.

'It's out of this world. We had to deal with Stoke's set-plays and were competent enough to avoid the dangers they created. But there is a limit to the pushing and grabbing that makes it impossible for referees. It's not pushing the boundaries of fair play. But it is pushing the boundaries on pushing and grabbing. It's difficult. Referees have to keep their eyes on the ball and be aware of certain situations. In this case, maybe the referee is in need of some help.

'I cannot be pleased with a point,' added Villas-Boas. 'But I do think it's one of the most difficult grounds to play away from home. For our title challenge, I think one point at Stoke is not bad.'

Crouching tiger: Villas-Boas sinks to his haunches as he makes a point

Pulis was unable to respond to the criticism as he was first into the pre-match conference - although he had nothing but praise for Chelsea at the final whistle.

Villas-Boas picked Fernando Torres ahead of Didier Drogba but said he did not want to 'individualise' the performance, adding: 'It's a decision I have to take every week. Week in, week out and midweek.

'It's a starting XI that leaves me comfortable for every game. I choose players from the way they perform in training. I'm happy with the effort of the players. We responded well.'